"Ladkiyon Ki Age..."- Radha Yadav At 25, Trolled For Playing Asia Cup Rising Stars

Radha Yadav gets trolled for featuring in Asia Cup [Source: X]

India Women announced their 15-member India A squad for the ACC Emerging Women’s Asia Cup 2026 back in January. However, a recent photoshoot featuring all the team captains has received severe backlash over India Women star Radha Yadav.

Notably, Radha Yadav is leading the 15-member squad for the tournament, which will be held from February 13 to February 22 in Thailand. Alongside Radha Yadav, names like Vrinda Dinesh, Anushka Sharma, and Minnu Mani will also feature in the squad.

The Age Spectrum in India Women ‘A’ Squad

Radha Yadav, who made her T20I debut against South Africa on February 13, 2018, will be featuring alongside youngsters in the India A squad. Notably, the squad has players ranging from 16 to 32 years of age.

While the general perception of a Rising Stars squad is that it represents the future of the country, Radha Yadav, who regularly features for the senior India Women’s team, has faced heavy online criticism for her inclusion as a leader.

Deeya Yadav, the youngest member of the squad at 16 years old, made history as the youngest player bought in the WPL mega auction. On the other end of the spectrum, Humaira Kazi and Tanuja Kanwar are among the most experienced and oldest players at 32 and 22 years of age respectively.

The Age Criteria Debate Around Asia Cup Rising Stars Tournament

However, do the age rules in the Rising Stars Asia Cup really matter? And do they truly focus only on youngsters? The Rising Stars Asia Cup, whether for men or women, is generally youth-focused.

However, it is important to note that there is no strict maximum age limit. It can feature someone as young as Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who is 14 years old, to players above 30 years of age.

Hence, under the current rules, no age limit has been set for the tournament. Therefore, featuring players who average around 22 to 23 years of age in the India Women’s A squad is quite justified.

Netizens Lash Out At Selectors And Radha Yadav

Yet, netizens were particularly critical of Radha Yadav, who has played 14 Women’s ODIs and 29 T20Is for India and is considered part of the senior setup.

Primarily a slow left-arm spinner, Radha Yadav has taken 103 wickets in T20Is at an average of 19.09 and an economy rate of 6.61.

Let’s take a look at how netizens reacted to her inclusion in the tournament:

Rajiv

@Rajiv1841

Radha Yadav who debuted 8 years ago & is one of the senior player of Indian team is playing rising Asia Cup. God bless these selectors🙏

Feb 12, 2026, 2:39 PM

balwant singh

@bmishru

@Rajiv1841 Maybe Selectors think Radha Yadav has not risen yet......and they want her to rise more... Similarly, Jitesh Sharma was made the captain of Men's Rising Stars Team

Anurag

@Imanurag11

@Rajiv1841 Radha Yadav, an 8-year veteran, finally gets to play the Rising Asia Cup, bless these selectors! 🙏

Arslan Nadeem

@arslannadeem04

@Rajiv1841 Larkiyon ki age barhti nai hai 😂

Jai Shri Ram

@jai_shri43088

@Rajiv1841 To play obc card as she is yadav

Bleed Blue

@CricCrazyVeena

Wtf is Radha doing in rising asia cup ?? She debut in 2018 for india 🙂

Feb 12, 2026, 11:34 AM

Rzen

@Rzen76

@CricCrazyVeena Need another debut.

Gaurav Nandan Tripathi | गौरव नंदन त्रिपाठी

@Cric_Beyond_Ent

@CricCrazyVeena See I mean India A team is playing and that's the idea of this tournament as well that the next best set of players after the international ones get a chance. Radha makes that cut as imo she doesn't has a guaranteed place in the national side anyways atm

Soumyashree Biswal

@soumyashreekb

@CricCrazyVeena It's kind of embarrassingly funny how BCCI sees these tournaments. They sent Shefali and Richa to play in an u19 world cup when they already had plenty of international experience. And now this one with Radha. Such tournaments are organised to provide exposure, not statpad.

?

@nazayazkutiya

Radha yadav in Rising stars

Feb 12, 2026, 11:48 AM

India A To Start Against UAE, Followed By Pakistan

Nevertheless, the Women’s Asia Cup Rising Stars 2026 is organised by the Asian Cricket Council, and the competition’s first edition was held in 2023 as the Women’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup. Notably, the Indian cricket team won the inaugural edition in Hong Kong, China.

There will be four A squads this year from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, joining four national sides from Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, and Thailand. 

While Group A consists of India A, Pakistan A, UAE, and Nepal, Group B includes Bangladesh A, Sri Lanka A, Malaysia, and Thailand. Each side will play the other three teams in their group once before the top two from each pool advance to the semi-finals. The final will be played on February 22.

The first clash for India A Women will be against the UAE on Friday, February 13, and the India vs Pakistan Group A match in the Women’s Rising Asia Cup will be played on Sunday, February 15.